Observation 2 / Hong Kong
Puppy power
Even the fiercest dogs start life as cuddly puppies. But at Hong Kong’s police-dog training centre, every game has a purpose: to prepare canines for a life of sniffing luggage, searching vehicles and fighting crime.
Summer is swimming with her handler Kenneth. The one-year-old golden labrador won’t start training to become a police dog for another six months. Until then she has the run of the leafy headquarters of Hong Kong’s Police Dog Unit (pdu): there are laps in the pool, runs on the lawn and plenty of tennis balls to chew on. The facility – a stick’s throw from the border with mainland China – is a canine country club in all but name. Every four-legged recruit that enters the police force starts here.
It might be a dog’s life at this sprawling site but…
